Like Mother, Like Daughter
by dreamsofyesterday1
Summary: Part Twenty One of the 'Robyn' series. The truth is out. Can Lily's plan be stopped or are things about to change in a dramatic way? rated T
1. Chapter 1

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Part twenty-one of the 'Robyn' series.

The truth was out. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. They had to face those they had lied to, all of them guilty of hiding something, hiding something they should never have kept from those they loved and those that loved them. Their crime was great. They had risked the lives of those around them, their friends, by keeping from them the awful truth of a killer on the loose, a killer they had all thought long buried, buried in the mists of time never to harm them again. Their fears had been realised when the killer themselves had revealed the truth and risen questions that had to be answered, answered by the people that had lied to the people of the town they lived in. It was those people that wanted answers. It was those people that would make sure they received the answers they deserved. They would not accept any more lies. The truth had to be told no matter how painful it was.

There was no other option.

Filled with bitter resentment, frightened, hurt and angry they turned to those charged with lying. Their eyes gazed on them with emotions that seemed to conflict with thoughts that tried to convince them that things weren't as bad as they thought, that this was something they could forgive but their feelings told them otherwise, they wouldn't listen. Analysing those feelings as best they could they seemed to be bent towards one person more than they were to the others guilty of the subterfuge.

She had hurt them the most. They felt it had been her decision to lie. She had lied to them more than the others. She was the one that had known of the killer, she was the one that had said nothing in the years that had passed. They looked at her, she was sitting silently. Her eyes turned to the floor, her lips pursed. Upon her face they could see no trace of guilt, there seemed to be defiance etched in the surface of her skin. It was a defiance that stirred their anger.

Something was stirring deep within her. A storm was raging that hadn't seemed to die since it had last been summoned. She could feel everyone around her, their raw emotions setting the room on fire. They were all around her, the tension they generated burning her. She wanted to be away, far away from them but there was no escape. The storm grew as her feelings intensified. She closed her eyes tight shut and tried to dispel the emotions threatening to tear her to pieces.

_No one in the room noticed the lights beginning to flicker or small cracks forming in the windows._

No one had spoken, yet. No one knew what to say. Their thoughts couldn't be translated into words that they could force from their lips. The truth was hard for them to deal with, the reality of what had happened almost inconceivable. A girl they had known since she had been an infant cradled in the arms of a man they had thought was her father had lied to them. She had betrayed them. They couldn't quite believe that she could have done something like that but it had happened.

That's what made them feel so bad.

When finally they did speak they all spoke out at once, their voices rising in unison. They cried out for answers, all fighting to be heard above the others. They merged into one, no one word distinguishable in the noise. Their tension wasn't eased by letting their thoughts run freely in words, it was exacerbated.

_The cracks in the windows began to grow, spreading out like spider webs and the lights continued to flicker._

The voices continued to escalate, deafening everything around them in their quest to make themselves heard, to make the ears that ignored them listen to what they had to say. They wanted the pursed lips to open, to let the words they wanted to hear pass through them but they remained tightly shut. Fuelled by their anger, hurt and fear darkened by confusion they continued their onslaught caring little for the person trying to stop their madness or the hurt they were inflicting on the person in the middle of it.

_Elias looked up as the lights seemed to turn themselves off and then on again, he could hear the power running through them. The cracks expanded._

As moments slipped by the clamour continued, rising in fever. Elias' men stood back while their leader shook himself from his surprise and began to shout himself, something was happening and he had to stop it. His voice was thrown back by the others shaking the air. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't penetrate the wall they had raised around themselves.

Robyn's eyes suddenly flew open. Life seemed to have returned to her body.

"Stop it!" She screamed, at the same time the lights exploded and the windows shattered throwing shards of glass everywhere.

The room fell silent. Nobody moved. Everyone looked around. Glass was everywhere but no one had been hurt. None of them knew how what had happened occurred. They were too shocked to think of the only person capable of such an act.

"Isn't that better?" A voice filled the room, a voice marked with a harsh tone.

The eyes of those in the room turned to a person standing in the corner that they hadn't noticed before. There was something about him that was familiar, they were sure they had seen him somewhere before. It was Detective Miller.

"At least now you can listen rather than shout. I see many of you recognise me. We've met before, many years ago."

Pixel nodded, "The day Mr Snail came to get Robyn."

"Yes. After all those years I never expected to see such a sight. All of you victimising the only innocent person in this room. I know she didn't tell you about Lily, she couldn't. There are things you don't know, things you can't understand but I have been permitted to speak, to open your eyes. You all know of Robyn's powers, what happened just now was an example of that. With those powers comes a very real danger to her. There are people that don't want her to have the abilities she has, they have made attempts on her life in the past and have threatened the lives of others. It was one such threat that stopped her telling you about Lily, a threat on Robbie's life. If she had told him or anyone else he would have died and so would they. If someone had asked why that person had died they would have died and it would have gone on and on until there was no one left. You ask the wrong questions and you die, you know too much and you die. That's how it works."

"Who are these people?" Trixie asked her expression one of confusion.

Detective Miller tried not to look at Michael as he answered, "I can't say. I can't name them, I can only warn you of what they can do. You remember when you asked Robyn about me, Trixie?"

Trixie nodded, she was slowly remembering what had happened.

"Your car blowing up was no accident, it was a warning. It was their way of telling you to back off. If Robyn hadn't have pushed you down that explosion would have killed you. You all have to understand that what Robyn did was for your protection. I'll leave you now, I've said enough. I suggest you all go home and go to bed."

In the blink of an eye Detective Miller was gone. He hoped that what he had said had gone some way to repair the damage Lily had done.

If it hadn't he had a lot of work to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly everyone left the Town Hall. They trod carefully over the glass crunching beneath their feet. All else was silent. Those creeping home to their beds didn't speak, there was much to talk about but it would wait until morning. Others remained outside the Town Hall. They stood there not knowing why they felt reluctant to return to their homes. They had thought them the safest places they could be but Morgan had proven that not even that was true. He had slipped into the home of one of their friends without anyone noticing and had killed a man before any alarm had been raised. The most frightening thing was that he had escaped in the same way. Everyone knew that more people could have been killed but were thankful that lives had been spared. It made little impact to them that two of the lives spared belonged to those people that had lied to them the most. All that seemed to matter to their weary minds that no one they knew had been seriously hurt.

Three people were left without a home to go. It was their home that had been violated. They would never be able to look at it the same way again. Even though the mess would be cleared and all signs of what had happened had been removed they would still know what had occurred in the centre of the main room of their house, they would always know of the man that had lain dead in a pool of blood, his head on the other side of the room. As they looked across the Town Square they could see the lights set up outside blaring against the front walls, illuminating it for all to see and the Land Rover backed up to the front door ready to remove any debris, as far as they knew the body had already been taken on its way home.

It was the three people left outside that stood wondering what they could do. There was nowhere for them to go, or so they thought as someone laid a gentle hand on Robbie's shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with Bessie.

"You three are welcome to stay with us until things at your house are sorted out." She offered her other hand clasping the Mayor's.

"Are you sure?" Kit asked, his tone edging on suspicious.

The Mayor inclined his head, "Yes. We're sorry for what happened earlier. There are no hard feelings, you can stay. That's if you want to."

"What about those guys that were staying at yours?"

"They left this morning," Bessie explained, "They were gone early, before we got up. All we found of them was note explaining where they'd gotten to and thanking us for our hospitality."

Kit nodded, "Then I don't see why not. Could you do us a favour though?"

"What is it?"

"Can you take Robyn back to yours? I think me and Robbie need to have a little talk, alone."

Kit's meaning was understood by both parties. Neither Bessie nor the Mayor said anything as they led Robyn back to their house. When they were gone Robbie turned to Kit.

"I think you're right about us needing to talk."

"Look, Robbie, I didn't mean to keep it from you but what was I supposed to do? You know how hard things have been." Kit tried to explain.

"That doesn't explain why Robyn didn't tell me." Robbie's voice was full of the hurt he felt.

"Would you have wanted to hear it from her? I mean, ok, hearing it from Lily was about as bad as it could get but hearing it from her wouldn't have made things any easier. It's not something anyone can really say. At least you knew you weren't her father."

"That's not the point!" Robbie snapped, "She didn't have to lie to me!"

"She didn't have to lie to you like you didn't have to lie to her about the DNA test. She didn't lie to you like you didn't have to lie to me."

"I never lied to you. Ok, maybe I lied about taking the test but I haven't lied about anything else."

Kit shook his head, "Take your mind back a few nights, to the night after we returned from Toronto. You and Robyn were talking about being afraid of the dark."

Robbie's face took on a look of surprise, "How do you know?"

"I came back to ask what things you needed at the shop. As I opened the door I heard you talking, you didn't notice me. Why didn't you tell me what happened to you as a kid? I knew you'd been at the orphanage, with him, but I thought he'd left you alone."

"I couldn't tell you."

"Why not? I love you, Robbie. Do my feelings mean nothing to you?" Tears were beginning to run down Kit's cheeks.

"Of course they mean something to me."

"Then why did you hide it from me? Am I that much of a monster that you thought I was going to run off and make a joke of it to everyone? That I'd laugh at you? Do I look like I'm laughing now?"

Robbie shook his head as he walked towards Kit and hugged the younger man, "No you don't. I should have trusted you. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just don't hold what Robyn did against her." Kit stepped back from Robbie, "After all, she said that you'd always be her dad. This is harder for her than you think. You're all she's ever known as a father. She's the one caught in the middle of all of this and she hates herself for what's happened, for being his daughter and for what Cain did. She needs you."

"I know. Come on, we better get to Bessie's before that Elias guy sends out a search party."

"Very true what with psycho brother number two running around. There's something that can be said for him."

"What's that?"

"He's a head and shoulders above Cain."

Hearing the punch-line of Kit's latest joke, Robbie pulled a face. He made a strange grumbling sound before walking away, shaking his head.

"What?" Kit called after him, confused.

When he received no answer he ran after him. When he had caught up with Robbie he received a withering glance which turned into a smile. Robbie playfully slapped him round the back of the head before entering the Mayor and Bessie's house.

Only one person was left outside after everyone had returned to their homes. Ché walked around aimlessly through the night collecting his thoughts. Greta had told him who had attacked her, he hadn't believed it at first but the appearance of the woman herself had convinced him. There had been no question then that he had to make Lily pay for hurting his wife and endangering the lives of his sons.

A sound nearby attracted his attention. When he looked to see what had caused it he saw the person who had caused his family pain.


	3. Chapter 3

They stood face to face. Many years had passed since they had last come face to face but only one of them had changed. He had grown older but time had not taken its toll on his strength or speed. She was much smaller than he in size but he knew her strength. They were evenly matched despite the differences between them. There was only one disadvantage against her he could think of. Being careful not to take his eyes from her for too long he looked around, his eyes carefully searching the darkness that surrounded them. He could see no one else on the streets, as far as he could see there was no one lurking in the shadows waiting to strike when he least expected it. He would be on his guard though. To let it drop could be fatal.

"Where is your son?" He asked of his opponent.

"Don't worry, Ché. I sent him home. This is between you and me. I believe you want to avenge the injuries I inflicted on Greta and that ingrate brother of mine. I'm ready when you are."

Ché needed no further invitation. With a speed that defied his years he charged at Lily. She was ready for him and kicked him in the stomach, hard. It was a blow that forced the giant back a few steps but he came at her again and managed to grab hold of her. He pulled her upwards, threatening to launch her into the air but she had other plans as she struggled to escape from his iron grip. Her foot rocketed up as he lifted her above his head and connected with his jaw in a blow that forced him to drop her and clasp his wounded mouth. She stood back waiting for him to recover but she didn't expect him to come at her again.

This time Ché's hand found Lily's throat. He once more lifted her into the air and threw her against one of the pillars supporting the roof of the Town Hall, his hand still around her neck. The force with which she had connected with the pillar sent cracks running up and down it but he cared little for that, he just wanted her to feel as much pain as possible. As his grip tightened around her throat he could feel her nails digging into his hand as she struggled for air. Beneath his hand he could feel her throat constricting, he could hear it as it struggled against him, small snaps sounding its pleas of mercy. His eyes were fixed on hers. They were defiant despite her predicament. She would not relent. Neither would he.

Knowing full well what her husband had remained in town for, Greta was shocked to find that he had found Lily so easily. There was a part of her that hoped that he would kill her and end all of their pain but a bigger part of her told her it was unwise. It was that part which forced her to speak against him.

"Ché! Don't kill her! Let her go!"

Ché turned his head slightly at his wife's cry. His eyes found her hers for a moment before he turned back to face Lily. Frowning, his lips made a snarl before he threw Lily over his shoulder. He heard her come crashing to the ground with a muffled thud. He watched as she rose to her feet quickly, her swiftness smooth despite one of her hands holding her throat as she gulped in air. She could not speak but her eyes communicated a very real threat to Ché before she ran off into the night.

Calming himself down, Ché looked over at Greta who had said nothing since she had told him to refrain from killing Lily.

"Why did you do that?" He asked his mind riddled with confusion.

Greta rejoined her husband, "Because if you had killed her, Morgan would have killed you. He wouldn't let her death go unpunished. There is so much we don't know about him, I don't want to risk losing a husband because we underestimate him."

"You're right. Let's go home and go to bed. We're both tired."

There was no refusal from Greta as she led the way to the ladder leading up to their airship. She was glad she had gotten to Ché in time and hoped that it would be a while before Lily sought retribution against her husband. She knew that when it happened it could affect her whole family.

It was a subdued supper that those four people ate that night. One of their party had retired to bed, refusing food and drink. Conversation was scarce, there were words to say but they could be saved for a different time. All that seemed to matter was that as much energy was conserved as possible so that those that were tired faced as little exertion as possible. They needed rest but they needed sustenance first.

Thoughts filled the void of conversation. Each was wrapped in their own. All were trying to make sense of what they had discovered. Two people sitting at that table tried to bring everything into focus but as they tried it became blurred and frayed. It was something beyond their capability. The only thing that was certain was that their feelings had changed forever. They could never feel the same again about a person they had loved since birth. Sense had been spoken to them through wisdom but it didn't change what had happened, it didn't change the fact that their trust had been betrayed. It would take a long time for them to forget that if they ever could.

Having taken his fill of food and his thoughts, Kit rose from the table. He made his excuses and headed down the hall to the spare bedroom Robyn had been settled in. She'd been left alone too long, he knew he should have checked on her sooner but trepidation of her reception of him had kept him back. He couldn't stand to be pushed away again, it hurt too much. He wanted to make it better, he wanted to change what happened and stopped her father from hurting her but he couldn't. If he'd had the power to he would have stopped her leaving for Toronto, he would have stopped Robbie telling her the devastating news that landed her in the hands of Ellen, he would have stopped Sportacus telling her everything. The knowledge that he was powerless to stop anything bad happening to her or changing time cut him deeply. He didn't want her to be in pain, he wanted her to be happy.

As he stood outside the door he rested his hand on the handle. There were no sounds emanating from within, he hoped that she was asleep. Pushing open the door he saw that he was mistaken. The lights were on and the room was bathed in light. His beloved was sat in the middle of the bed watching him. He smiled briefly at her and wasn't surprised when she didn't return it. Once again he was faced with the fear of losing her. He hoped that he already hadn't.

He closed the door behind him as he stepped inside. It was the only movement he made. He left the ball in her court. It was up to her to decide what she wanted to happen. She seemed to know what he was doing. He saw a visible relaxation in her frame but she was still tense.

"Are you ok?" He asked remaining where he was.

Robyn shook her head, "I keep seeing him."

"Who?"

"The man that Morgan killed. He's there and he won't go away."

Kit looked behind him to where Robyn had been pointing but he couldn't see anyone, "What he does he want?"

"He won't talk to me. He blames me for what happened."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't warn him. Morgan was behind him and I didn't say anything. He knew that I'd seen someone and he turned round, by then it was too late. He blames me like everyone else. They all blame me for what happened, for lying to them, for bringing Morgan here. Someone died here today because of me, because he wants me and so does Lily. They won't stop until they have me."

Crossing the breach, Kit walked towards Robyn and sat beside her on the bed. She needed him. Taking her up in his arms he could feel her shaking. He held her gently as he whispered soothing words in her ear. He laid her down and he lay beside her. They rested like that for what seemed like hours, when Robyn finally calmed he tilted his head to look at her.

She was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

The moon hung high in the sky, ribbons of stars as old as itself holding it in place. It cast an uncertain light over the sleeping town, sleeping except for those that roamed through its empty streets guarding those that had once felt safe in their remote home dwarfed by mountains that stretched across the horizon and surrounded by an open plain that bordered a great lake that when crossed yielded nothing but another great stretch of open space, beyond that, beyond the visual range of the normal eye, laid the furthest fringes of Greentown. Even their seclusion had not kept them safe from invasion. A threat had returned to their lives that they had once thought removed forever. A threat had joined forces with another which through their futures into even greater danger. It was those wakeful twelve that patrolled their streets that gave them any hope of safety but even that could not waylay their fears that there something yet to come. With sleep came vulnerability and there were many that feared the slip into dreams that they might never wake from.

Lurking in the shadows she crept behind a high wall that shielded her shadow from the eyes of those that would stop her if she was seen. Being seen was not something she could afford to happen. There were things she had to know, things she had to ask and to do that she had to appeal to the devil, a devil that lived outside of town. She knew where she had to go, there could be no other place but to get there, she knew, would be a long journey.

Her stealthy footsteps fell short as she came to end of the wall. She paused, looking, listening, searching with her senses for anyone that might be close by. Before the next wall that would act as her hiding place there was a large space, it was a precipice she had to cross swiftly. Beams of light from torches filled the void for an instant, sweeping across the empty air before rolling back into darkness.

She had stepped back from the light, pressing herself deeper into the shadows. Her concentration had waned for a moment.

It was in that moment that she was discovered.

A light touch on her arm had sent a chill running down her spine. She turned sharply, too sharply. As her head span she felt the touch on her arm tighten to a grip that held her upright, assisting her to maintain her balance. Once the world had stopped spinning around her she looked into the face of the one that had found her, she had hoped to avoid him.

"Shouldn't you be inside somewhere?" Elias asked his tone surprisingly calm.

Robyn shook her head, "There's something I have to do."

"Yes, coming with me back to the Mayor's house."

"I didn't mean that." Robyn protested.

"But I did. Are you going to come with me or am I going to have to carry you? It's your choice but either way you're not going anywhere."

"If I'm not going anywhere how can I go to the Mayor's house?"

For the first time since she had met him, Elias smiled. It seemed strange to see him display any sort of emotion other than those he seemed to favour most. His face normally darkened by moroseness lit up and his eyes softened.

"Very clever," He commented allowing his smile to fade slowly, "Walk with me."

Robyn watched as Elias walked away from her a few steps, "Where?" She asked not knowing if it was some sort of ploy to lead her back to her temporary home.

"We're going to your garden. Call it a kind of deal. If I let you stay out a little longer with my supervision you'll go back to where you should be without any fuss. Agreed?"

Robyn had no choice but to acquiesce to her temporary body guard. It wasn't exactly what she wanted but she hoped that an opportunity would arise where she would be able to slip the leash he had tried to attach her to. It was a hope that dimmed when her unwanted companion was joined by the second half of their pair.

The tour of her garden was short. There had been little conversation or opportunity for her guests to study anything in great detail. Even though patches of moonlight managed to break through the spiral of cloud trying to obscure them it was still dark, too dark for her guardians to feel comfortable. Each hedge offered a hiding place, each tree a shelter. Every shadow seemed to be suspected of concealing something within its enveloping arms. Until they knew that the threat had moved on it would always remain that way.

Kit was pacing the kitchen when someone knocked on the door. He was the only one there to answer it. Everyone else had long retired to bed. Relief washed over him as he viewed his love back safe and sound flanked by Elias and a man he'd never seen before. A few brief words were shared before she was released into his hands and the men departed. When the door was shut and locked once more he looked to the woman sat in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Where the hell did you get to this time? One minute you're there, the next you're gone." He asked trying to keep himself calm.

"I had to get out." Robyn replied her hands folded in her lap and her head tilted towards the ground.

"Why? What for? You do know who might be running around out there, don't you? If you don't I'll give you a clue, it isn't the Easter Bunny."

"They weren't out there. I couldn't sense either of them."

"That's something then but how do you know that Lily hasn't come up with some way to block you out? For all you know she might be standing right behind you and you wouldn't know until she stuck a dagger in your back."

Robyn stood up from the chair and unsteadily circled the table. She didn't like the way Kit spoke to her when he was like this. He made her feel like a child, like he was in the right but she knew that she was wrong to do the things she so often did.

"I'm sorry." Kit apologised guessing that he'd upset Robyn from her actions, "But you know what you do to me when you disappear like that. I know you don't mean to run off, not all the time, but it frightens me that I don't know where you are or what's happening to you."

Robyn looked at Kit, her head tilted to one side as if trying to look at him from a different angle. "You still blame yourself for Cain."

"Yes I do. I blame myself for everything that happens to you when I'm not there to protect you because that is what I'm supposed to do. I promised Robbie I'd look after you when I asked him if I could ask you to marry me the first time. That's what I'm supposed to do but I keep failing you. I am so scared that one day I'll fail you and it will be the last time it'll ever happen because you'll be dead. None of this would have happened if I'd done what I promised him I would do."

"You have looked after me. Looking after me isn't just about protecting me and you know as well as I do that you can't be there all the time. No one can, not even Sportacus. What happened with Cain was not your fault. It was nobody's fault. It happened and no one could have stopped it. You have to let it go, it's tearing you apart and what's keeping me from moving on. I need you to forget, I need you to help me forget."

"How?" Kit asked not quite understanding what Robyn was saying.

Robyn walked towards Kit and placed a hand on his cheek, "Give me something else to remember. Give me new memories that aren't filled with him."

This time he understood. His first impulse was to refuse but there was something within him that said that this was the only way to close wounds that would always remain open.

He listened to it as he brought his lips to hers and they sank slowly to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

Something was tugging at the back of his sleeping mind. Something was trying to tell him that all was not right. He tried to ignore it. The more he tried to slip back into the sleep he had lost from its nagging persistence the more it kept following him, pulling him back, forcing him to acknowledge its pricks of consciousness. Awakening his sleep deafened ears he turned them in attention to his instincts' distant cries. More than their battle to gain his attention, they woke him. He could feel what they were trying to warn him about, he understood their taunts. One of his hands found the back of his neck, the place his senses were trying to tell him about. His reluctant fingers found a wet patch beneath his scalp line. He closed his eyes as he pulled his hand from the wretched discovery. Something within him told him that it wasn't sweat caused by a fitful slumber or from heat generated by his body thrown back at him from the sheets that wrapped him. He forced his eyes to open when his fingers were parallel with his face. They obeyed slowly. They were slower to focus in the dim light dawning through the curtains that hung at the window.

As the picture they presented cleared he moved his fingers from side to side. He could see the glitter of the fluid upon them. His mind opened in strange curiosity when he saw that the stain upon his fingers was red. In the grip of the need for discovery he lifted his fingers to his lips, his tongue darted between them for an instant to taste what had besmirched his flesh. His taste buds knew that flavour, that taste of rusting metal, the taste of what belongs inside the body but should never seep out in quantities to weaken its owner, the bitter taste that warned of something never to be drunk.

It was blood.

Startled completely from slumber he rose with a start. His head swam and a pain shot through his neck where his fingers had sought an answer to the warnings of his senses. His hand found that place again in an effort to still the pain that closed his eyes once more. It subsided but with a sensation like burning following in its wake. He opened his eyes and moved them lazily about. Nothing they gazed upon seemed straight. Everything seemed to be tilting at an angle. There seemed no reason for the distortion of his vision, there was nothing communicated between his eyes and his brain to tell him why such a strange thing had occurred or what had caused it. There was only one way he could think of to find out for himself the cause of this phenomenon.

He swung his legs out of the bed and rested his feet on the floor. The pain in his neck resumed but died away when he made no further movement to aggravate it. Being careful not to give it reason to return he stood up, the tilt on his surroundings seemed worse. Pushing it aside he walked forwards, his steps deliberately measured to avoid irritation to his neck from jolts if his feet fell too heavily on the floor. He walked towards a mirror on the wall, its surface glowing in the light that fell upon it. His eyes didn't fall on his reflection in the glass until he was stood before it.

His mind reeled at what he saw in the mirror, it didn't seem true, it was unreal. He wanted to close his eyes against that dreadful image that stared back at him with eyes widened by the most primal of fear but they resisted. They wanted him to see that dreadful shape.

His head was lolling awkwardly to one side. Every slight movement he made seemed to make it roll from side to side. A great gash in his neck had forced it from its previous home and hung it upon a stretch of flesh that shone bloody in the light that touched it.

Kit bolted upright, awake.

Without caring for his companion he threw himself from the bed forcing the sheets to follow him. He had to know if it was true, he had to know he was safe. He fought his way through the darkness to the mirror, that would tell him what he wanted to know or what he most feared, he hoped its image would be in his favour.

Face to face with his own reflection, his own terrified eyes, he saw that everything was right. Everything was in its place. A sigh of relief lifted his chest and parted his lips. Confident in his safety he was about to return to bed when something showed in the mirror beside himself.

He looked at it, its shape was familiar. It didn't move though he scrutinised it closely. As his vision brightened to the darkness he began to make out more of the shape but still the identity of it was obscured.

He saw the eyes first. They seemed to shine in the early morning light. They were eyes he'd seen before. His heart shifted in his chest. The name of the person came springing forth into his adrenaline alerted brain.

Morgan.

His eyes told him it was he but something at the back of his mind wouldn't accept it, it was someone else. He looked closer, his eyes straining to pick out more of the shape in the darkness. A glint of light reflecting off of something caught his attention. It drew his vision to the face. The picture it presented began to clear, his blood turned cold as recognition flickered into life.

It was Robyn standing behind him, she held Morgan's knife in her hands. She smiled at him, slowly. A strange nervous smile twisted his features in reply.

It was then that she brought the knife down.

Kit shot bolt upright in bed. Sweat covered his face and body. His breathing shuddered in gasps. For a few moments he wasn't sure whether he was still dreaming or he was awake, his last nightmare had seemed so real. He could still feel those eyes burning into him, that smile chilling him to the bone, the feel of the blade as it touched his neck…

He lifted a hand to his throat. Everything was as it should be. Slowly he turned his head to look at the woman who shared his bed. She was awake. There was something in the way she looked at him that told him that something was wrong.

"How could you?" She asked her tone colder than he had ever known it.

"How could I what?"

"What you dreamt. You dreamt that I killed you, you dreamt that I was Morgan."

"I can't help what I dream." Kit protested, "No one can."

"It's not just what you dream, it's what you think. It's what you're thinking now. You think I'm just like them, that I'll turn."

"Robyn, you're being paranoid. I know you'd never hurt me or anyone else."

Robyn shook her head, "Remember who you're talking to. I know what you're thinking even if you don't. Deep down you're the same as everyone else. I've heard them talking. They all think I'm a liar, that I'm more like her than they thought. Everything has changed. I can't stay here."

"You can't leave. You were born here."

"I wasn't born here. I was abandoned here, left on Robbie's doorstep by my own father."

Kit frowned, he was struggling to understand. "I thought Lily dumped you there."

"No, she took me to him, to the man that made me and left me there. It was him that shut me out in the cold, a defenceless baby left outside with no food and just a blanket to keep me warm. That's why I punched him."

"But you still don't have to leave. Please, Robyn. You can't leave. I can't leave with you, this is my home. If you leave town you leave me." Tears wet Kit's eyes as he delivered his ultimatum, his last chance to dissuade Robyn from the path she was taking.

Robyn rose from the bed, she stood unsteadily at first but soon found her balance. Her lips found Kit's, his eyes closed at their touch.

When he opened them again she was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Fingers of gold wove patterns in the sky. Their colours stood stark against a burning orange backdrop bordered by darkened clouds that glowed against the hazy light of the coming morning. Silhouetted birds flew amongst the dawning colours, their wings sounding a beat to their songs heralding the change from night to day. A warm breeze from the east pushed the darkness away. It eased the clouds from their perches as they eddied along the golden river ahead of them. As they drifted along their colours changed from black and grey to white as the sky took on streaks of azure. As slowly as the change came over the skies it was beautiful to all those that surveyed it except for the lonely person that stumbled and tripped away from the still sleeping town that had been her home.

Getting away hadn't been easy. Elias' men had still been patrolling the streets. Their leader himself had been with them, waiting for the time when they would be relieved so they could find their beds and slumber. They were tired, too tired to notice her as she made her second attempt at escape, an attempt more desperate than the first.

As far as she had known Kit hadn't tried to stop her. Even if he had she was too upset to have noticed. Everything seemed to be falling to pieces around her. The truth about her paternity was known, no one trusted her anymore, not even the man she loved most in the world. There seemed to be only one place to go and she knew that if it went wrong she was delivering herself into the hands of danger.

Her journey had come to an end. As she stared at the wreckage that had once been a cabin standing amongst many in a holiday camp she wondered if she was doing the right thing. It was possible there was still a chance that she could repair the damage that had been done but as she thought harder on it she realised she had taken a step too far.

There was no going back. In haste of hurt she had pushed away the one person that would have always stood by her, who loved her for who she was despite her family. She was trapped, alone in a situation she had never thought that she'd be in.

Shaking off her doubt and quelling the sudden fear that had risen within her, she mounted the stone steps that had once been surrounded by flames. The door hung open on its devastated hinges, there were no sounds within that caught her listening ears. Instead of heading to the basement when she entered she was drawn to the room she had entered upon her first visit to the cabin, there was something in there.

She slowly pushed open the heavy wooden door, it squealed in protest at being moved after nearly three winters of damp that had rusted its hinges. Her eyes adjusted to the change in light, all of the windows were covered in tattered fabric making the room dim against the light of the day outside. Something told her she wasn't alone in the room.

"Je qui sais vous cherchez. Votre mère n'est pas ici." A voice emanating from a corner of the room behind her confirmed it.

Robyn turned to face the spirit that addressed her, "You're Eloise DeChamp."

"Oui." The spirit nodded, "I see you remember me."

"I don't tend to forget people that try to kill me. What did you mean when you said she wasn't here?"

"Just that. Lily's moved on from here, she knew that you'd come here so she asked me to look out for you."

"Do you know where she's gone?"

Eloise shook her head, "She didn't say. All she said was that you'd know where to find her. You'll always know where to find her. It is in your blood, it is part of you just as you are a part of her. If I were you I would keep away from her, she's much more dangerous than you think. Even though she is your mother you know her very little. Now that your new brother has emerged she is more powerful than before. If you cross her the consequences could be worse than you think. You're better off on your own, ma jeune, but if you decide to go to her watch your back. You never know when she'll get bored of your presence."

"What can you tell me about Morgan?"

"Morgan?" Eloise let out a peal of laughter before shuddering with what could only be described as desire, "Morgan. He is very handsome. If I were alive he would send a shiver down my spine. There is one problem with him though, he resembles his father much more than his brother did."

"I know what he looks like, I've seen him. Tell me what you know about him."

Eloise laughed again, its tone was almost mocking. "No one knows Morgan. He is a mystery. I don't think even Lily knows all about him."

This wasn't what Robyn had wanted or expected to hear. Looking back at Eloise after staring at a wall for a few moments she realised that there was nothing more to be said. By remaining past her welcome she was putting herself in danger, Eloise had attacked her once and there was nothing stopping her from doing the same again.

Careful not to turn her back on her informant for too long, she made her way out. Eloise made no move to stop her and no words of protest left her lips, it seemed that she was being allowed to leave in peace. It was only when she fully turned her back on Eloise that the woman made any attempt to stop her.

"If you're going to her, take my advice and be careful. You know she won't think twice about killing you when she loses interest in you. I'll let you leave here unharmed this time but if you come here again I will kill you myself."

She left the cabin unharmed as had been promised. She felt strangely lucky to have been allowed that privilege but she had taken Eloise's warning seriously. She knew that the spirit was more than capable of harming her and had done so before. She had puzzled over why she had been allowed to leave so freely but the only answer that had been forthcoming was the hope that someone would do the hard work for her.

As she walked along the road lost in thoughts of what she was going to do next, she didn't notice a car slowing down to follow her. She didn't hear its approach nor did she know it was there until the driver leapt with his hand on the horn to attract her attention.

Whirling round at the sudden noise, Robyn lost her balance and fell backwards onto the ground. The driver stopped his car almost the instant she began to lose her footing and jumped out of the car to check on her.

"Are you ok? I'm sorry I startled you." The driver asked, his face written with surprise.

Robyn frowned at the man as he knelt down beside her, "Then why do it?"

"You didn't hear me come along. I know I was a little harsh with the horn but there's no need to bite my head off. Are you going to answer my question now?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You're not. Your hands are scuffed up from when you tried to break your fall. Let me take a closer look."

The driver grabbed one of Robyn's hands but she snatched it back, "I'm fine." She repeated levelling a glance at the driver that didn't permit argument.

"Ok," The driver held up both his hands and stood up, "You're fine. Are you sure you're not too fine to want a lift anywhere as an apology or do you want to walk?"

Robyn thought for a moment, "A lift would be useful, thanks."

Nodding, the driver helped Robyn up. He walked with her to his car and helped her inside. When she was in he closed the door and walked around to his own. Climbing in the driver's seat he restarted the engine and looked at his passenger.

"Where to?" He asked as he started to release the hand brake.

Robyn's eyes locked onto the driver's. His face became expressionless as his mind dulled into the oblivion she was pushing it.

"Just drive. I'll tell you when to stop."

The driver did as he was told. He didn't have the ability to do anything else.


	7. Chapter 7

Elias struggled to hold his tongue as he stood in the Mayor's kitchen and heard tell of what had happened right beneath his very nose. His temper had begun to fray the moment he heard the name of the person reported to have disappeared. It had only almost exploded when his enquiries led him to her fiancé and the person he held responsible. As he listened to what he had been almost afraid to hear he had tried to keep himself calm and objective but that was proving almost impossible under the circumstances. He was having a hard time believing that Kit had done almost nothing to stop his lover leaving town and forcing herself into the hands of almost certain danger. He had made no comment so far, whatever remaining patience he had was allowing the younger man to explain what had happened but it was certain that he would soon no longer be able to withstand the strain of holding himself back. The men with him knew him well enough to know that time was running out and he noticed them starting to back off to avoid the sting of his tongue when he chose to have his say. He knew he had to be considerate of the Mayor's presence and his companions.

Knowing himself as he did he couldn't blame them.

"So when did this all happen?" Elias asked as calmly as he could.

Kit wiped a tired hand across his eyes, "I don't know. It was still dark, maybe early this morning."

"What on earth possessed you to let her go like that? You do know who's out there don't you or haven't you been listening?"

"Of course I know who's out there. I'm not stupid."

"You could have fooled me." Elias snapped leaning forward so he was almost nose to nose with Kit, "Why didn't you try to stop her, huh? Answer me that. You tell me that you're not stupid and yet you let her walk out on her own."

"Maybe because I thought that was meant to be your job." Kit shouted back forcing Elias to retreat a few steps in surprise. "After all, you are meant to be guarding her aren't you, keeping her out of trouble? And I have to say that as usual you've done a bloody fine job of it, Elias. How many more times are you going to cock this up? To be honest I can count the amount of things you've gotten right on one hand."

Elias was fuming when he replied, "Maybe if that stupid bitch of a fiancée of yours stayed still for a few minutes I wouldn't have lost three men and I might be able to do my job properly. As it is this is turning into a full time job and it's not the one I signed up for. Maybe I might be lucky enough to find her dead in a ditch somewhere and my job will be done and I can go home. After what she's been responsible for I wouldn't say no to putting her there myself."

Everyone in the room reacted to Elias' comments differently but no one was more affected than Kit. His temper had been ignited by the words of hate shot into him like arrows and the pent up emotions of months boiled to the surface. His eyes burned as he started to stand up.

"You just said the wrong thing." Kit whispered before throwing himself at Elias.

Both men went sprawling over the floor. They struggled together until Elias kicked Kit away from him. He was soon up on his feet again and threw Kit back against the table but didn't expect to be pulled along and impacted hard on his side on the top of the table.

Winded but not beaten, Elias grabbed his opponent and hit him in the face before making an attempt to punch him in the stomach but was thwarted by his own face being struck and a fist hurling itself into his chest. Recovering quickly from the blow he was about to make another attempt at an attack but found his hands held by someone behind him. Not willing to let such insolence pass as he had suffered from Kit and not caring who held him, he kicked back with one foot and smiled when he found the person's shin and heard a hiss of pain.

The hiss of pain was soon followed by one of his own when another foot answered his challenge and struck him in the back.

His fight was over.

Robyn stood in front of the gate separating her from the house. Even though there no signs of life within the house she knew that there were people within. The yellow tape sealing the door had not been disturbed but somehow they had gained entry, the yellow barrier keeping them from the danger of discovery. She knew that even if the tape was broken no one would enter the house to see what had been responsible for its removal.

Looking around to make sure that she wasn't being watched, she pushed open the gate and passed through. Her heart quickened as it squeaked loudly shut behind her, startling her in the silence of the night. She turned around to look up and down the street again. There was still no one around.

The sound of a foot crunching on the gravel startled her again but she maintained her composure when she sensed who had made themselves known to her.

"You like sneaking up on people don't you, Lily? Attacking from behind seems to be one of your favourite things." Robyn stated as she turned around to face her mother.

Lily shook her head, "On the contrary, I always attack from the front. If you remember I stabbed that idiot Robbie while he was looking at me and your pretty boy was facing me when I attacked him."

"I stand corrected." Robyn admitted, "You've been expecting me."

"I have. I wondered how long it would take you to get here."

"How did you know I was coming?"

Lily smiled and walked towards her daughter, "Because I know you better than you think. I may have missed more than a substantial portion of your life but I am still your mother and you are still my daughter."

Something Lily said struck a cord deep inside Robyn. Not able to look at her mother she turned away. This was an action that confused Lily. She was even more perplexed when she saw tears on her daughter's cheeks.

"What are your crying for? I haven't touched you, I've barely said a word to you and you do this." Lily asked, her tone regaining its usual impatience.

Robyn looked up, she felt strangely ashamed as she confessed what she was feeling. "You've never spoken about me or yourself like that before. You've never referred to me as your daughter in that tone before and have talked of yourself as being my mother in a way that makes you feel something."

"Well it's not exactly something I can deny is it? I did after all give birth to you and as much I would have liked to have strangled you at birth, you and your brothers, you've all proven to be strangely useful."

"How can I be useful to you? How have I been useful to you?"

"You're here. Don't tell me you didn't know why you came, that you didn't know what you wanted. You're useful because you're just like me, deep down at least, and together with Morgan we can cause some real trouble. Isn't that what you want? Don't you want to make people suffer? Don't you want to be like me?"

Robyn was silent.

Lily laughed bluntly before turning around to re-enter the house, "The choice is there, Robyn. You can come with me and be part of a family or you can run along home to a place where you're considered a liar and all of your friends have abandoned you. Either that or you can make a life for yourself on the streets, walk around forever knowing that you're alone in the world and that I'll not extend the offer again. If you make up your mind you'll find a way in around the back. If I don't see you I'll know what decision you made, power or poverty. You'll never be welcome in Lazytown again and you'll leave there for good eventually. If you choose not to be part of us I'll say goodbye."

Robyn watched as Lily walked away. She turned away also and began walking towards the gate. She was about to pass through it when something stopped her, Lily's words. Her mother had been right.

Leaning back against the gate she took a deep breath before following in the footsteps of her mother. Lily was waiting for her in the shadows.

"I knew you'd make the right choice." She smiled before showing her daughter into the house.


	8. Chapter 8

Standing outside the door she wondered if she should open it. There was something beyond that barrier, something that didn't want to be found, something that shouldn't be found. Her senses told her to leave the door shut, to come away and occupy her mind with thoughts of other things but her curiosity was beginning to overrule her. It was enticing her to open the door, to take a look at what was hidden behind it and then to walk away or explore further depending on what was there. She tried to ignore her growing want of knowledge but its pull was almost too strong to withstand. Her hand had laid itself on the door handle before she had been able to rip herself away. Her hand had come away from it as if it had been red hot, she had looked it at, wanting still to open it, but had defied herself and turned her back on it. Her footsteps carried her away from it, quickly, painlessly, but not completely.

It was calling her. It wanted her to come back. It wanted to be opened. She resisted, she had to. If she allowed her curiosity to pull her back she would be led straight into whatever lay behind that door, whatever danger that awaited her. Almost without her knowledge she had turned her head to look at the door as her thoughts had been drawn to it. Her body was still facing the way she was intending to go, she could still leave, she could still get away. She pulled her head back, fixing her eyes in the direction she wanted to go. Her feet resisted but they soon complied as she walked away slowly. It was working.

It was at least until she heard the voice.

It came out of the blue. She was sure she had heard the voice before. It's words had been urgent, commanding, it's tone unpleasant. There was no doubting it's origin. The voice had been male, only she and Lily were in the house, Morgan hadn't yet returned from wherever he had gone to.

There was only one answer. There was someone in the room behind that door.

They called her again, by name. They knew her. She searched her memory for any recollection of a possible owner of that voice. It was familiar, hauntingly familiar, a voice she should remember. Until she knew the identity of the owner of that voice she wouldn't venture closer to the door.

It called again, closer this time. They were standing behind the door, she could feel it. She didn't move.

The handle began to rattle. It was as if it was being forced from the other side, being pulled down hurriedly in an attempt to open the door. Soon the whole door was shaking violently.

It shook as if caught in an earthquake. Dust began falling from the ceiling above its eaves. The handle continued to rattle as the door refused to cease its violent throes. Its hinges began to scream under the pressure, cracks formed in the walls around it.

Robyn stood transfixed as it continued, terrified that at any minute she would encounter the person behind the door.

And then it stopped.

The door shook no longer. All had fallen quiet. For many moments she remained where she was, unmoving. It seemed as if nothing had happened. The cracks seemed to have disappeared, the dust had vanished.

She shook her head, not understanding, not believing. It was real, it had to have been. There was no other explanation.

She walked closer to the door. There were still no signs of what had happened. She couldn't believe that it hadn't happened, that it had been an hallucination. It had seemed so real. The dust, the noises, the voice.

The voice. That had fallen silent too. She shook her head again as she stood before the door in the same place as she had stood before. Her hand rested on the handle. She had to know now who was behind the door, if there was really anyone there. It pushed down with very little pressure. As she pushed the door gently open she heard its hinges creak. Cobwebs sprung forward, as the door opened past a certain point, protecting their boundary, warning her off. She ignored their warning and brushed them away before looking into the deep darkness that stood in front of her.

There was nothing there. All there seemed to be was a cool breeze blowing on her cheeks and the sound of dripping water. There was no person and no voice. It hadn't been real. Confused and feeling disappointed, she began to close the door.

She felt something coming too late, it grabbed her before she'd even had a chance to blink and pulled her into the encompassing blackness below.

Elias slammed his fist on the table. He'd had enough sitting around despite the pain that every movement caused since a boot had made contact with the base of his spine. He had been unable to fight anymore, too winded to move and had allowed himself to be conveyed to a chair under the watchful eyes of those present in the room. He sneered at the man that had dared attack him, his second in command, Boris, a man he had once trusted, even liked, but a man he would turn his back on no more.

Standing up stiffly he turned to his men and ignored the people watching him from the other side of the room. He knew that they thought ill of him for the things he had said but he didn't care, there were more important things to care about and he had a job to do.

"Right," He began, checking his voice, "Call the base, tell the men no one sleeps until we find Robyn. We'll start with a house to house and will leave no centimetre left unchecked. She has to be somewhere. If she's not in this town I want three groups to search the area. One goes to Crazytown, the other goes the other way to the next town and the third checks the cemetery and the lake."

"You might need four groups, you've missed somewhere." Kit piped in.

Elias gritted his teeth, "Where could I have missed?"

"There's an old camp site in the opposite direction of the lake. It's an hour's walk more or less. I suggest you try there as well."

"Fine. We'll have four groups." Elias turned his back on Kit once again and looked at his men, "Boris, I'll let you make the arrangements and get the team into their groups. This is your search."

Boris nodded and started to turn to leave when he heard Elias address him, "Yes?"

"If you ever want to think about attacking me again I would strongly suggest you do it after having reconsidered your career. Do anything like that again and I will snap you like a twig. No get out of my sight and don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

Elias' men left without being called back again.


	9. Chapter 9

She was lying down, lying on something hard and flat. She couldn't move. All was dark around her, so dark she could barely make out even the tiniest prick of light from above. Mingled with the darkness was a silence equally as impenetrable. Somewhere within the void between light and noise she wasn't alone. There was someone there with her, standing over her in the darkness, invisible. Their breathing was shallow, almost unnoticeable. They were still; not moving in any way that she could detect. Despite their stillness she knew she wasn't safe. This was the person that had been calling her, the person that had dragged her into the dark depths of the basement in which she was now trapped.

The rustle of a sleeved arm being drawn up disturbed the silence. That sound was followed by a click and light flooded the room. It was so bright against the blackness she had faced for what could have been hours she was forced to close her eyes. Even with the protection of their closed lids her eyes continued to sting. As it began to lessen she opened them once again and attempted to look around while her eyes focussed in the change in light.

A high, lofty ceiling greeted her clearing vision. Its beams laid damp against it, supporting it, coated in cobwebs from which long deceased spiders hung in clumps, starved by a lack of food, caught by starvation before they could feed on each other.

Her eyes arched downwards, facing directly above her, an action that caused her to close her eyes again. The light filling the room was at an angle above her head. She had seen a light like it before, a light most often seen in operating theatres. It was this that frightened her more than the darkness, than the silence, and being trapped with no hope of escape.

A shadow passed over her eyes. It lingered, shielding her from the glare of the light. She opened her eyes slowly, using the time to examine her captor. They were a stranger to her, their face leant no clue to their identity and offered no match to the voice that remained trapped behind a pair of thin lips closed tightly in a twisted grin that contorted the whole face and made the small dark eyes glitter with menace.

The hand still holding the light some way from her face pushed it back more. When that hand fell away she could see it reach for something nearby. She turned her head to see what it was. The hand was holding a mask attached to a canister that stood at the edge of her bed. There was a word upon it worn away by time, scratched by years of use, but she could still read it and it chilled her.

She tried to struggle free from whatever was holding her but she was bound tight. She saw the man lift his other hand and watched as it clamped itself on her forehead, holding her head down tight. The other hand had lifted the mask from its hook on the canister and was slowly drawing it towards her face, making her more frightened. Even when she felt the worn rubber edge of the mask being pressed down hard over her nose and mouth her struggles continued futilely, she couldn't let them win.

What felt like a cool breeze began to blow on her face through the mask. She held her breath not wanting to breathe in, not wanting to be knocked out by the gas that would put her into a fatal slumber.

He knew she was fighting but he didn't seem to mind. Sooner or later she would have to breathe, sooner or later she wouldn't have a choice.

It became harder and harder for her to fight her body's natural instinct to draw in air. She kept trying to resist but her struggles were decreasing the time she could hold out. Her muscles needed the oxygen running through her blood stream to keep functioning, there was little choice and little time left.

Before she could stop it from happening her mouth opened and her lungs seized all the air they could come upon. With that single gulp of breath came panic. She tried to stop herself breathing in more of the gas blowing through the mask but the more she breathed in the more her body seemed to want.

She was growing sleepy. Her eyes were becoming heavy. She tried to hold on to whatever threads of consciousness she could grasp but they slipped through her fingers like grains of dry sand falling through an hourglass. Sleep swept her up in its arms and pulled her towards a dreamless oblivion, an indeterminable prison that would hold her until her eyes once more opened on the world and her lungs breathed oxygen into them.

Robbie sat on the bench he had so often tried to sleep on, alone and in turmoil. He wanted to know that Robyn was safe, that she had been found and was coming home but that was as yet uncertain. It was hard for him to tell himself that he had had no part in her leaving, that she hadn't left because of him, because of what he had said, but it just felt like he was lying to himself.

So many times they had hurt each other, so many times they had overcome their difficulties and built up a solid relationship that, despite their transgressions against each other, had survived and seemed to strengthen with every incident that may have destroyed it.

He loved her as a daughter and she loved him as a father but it felt to him that this was the final time she would ever look upon him with love. For those few moments he had doubted her, doubt he should have never felt in the face of his feelings for her and knowing her as he did. It was that doubt she would have felt from him, it was feeling that doubt that would have hurt her the most.

She had had her reasons for keeping the truth from him and he could see that now but now was too late.

Something wet was dripping onto her head. It beat a steady rhythm against her temple, rousing her from sleep. Opening her eyes she saw nothing but darkness broken only by a single light flickering unsteadily from above, a pale beam that stretched across the ceiling, hanging from the rafters high above. It sputtered like a candle drowning in its own wax, its light ready to be extinguished at any moment.

The drips continued to fall onto her. She raised a hand to keep them from her face and sat up slowly. It was then that she felt what was around her.

Death.

Lifting her eyes from the floor she saw the devastation all around her. The bodies lying on the cold tile, each one dismembered, not one amongst them recognisable, none fortunate enough to die a peaceful death, all tortured.

She was trapped in the middle of a crimson halo of death. They were all around her, glaring at her with their unseeing eyes. They lay there, some with their arms outstretched, pointing at her. It seemed as if they were mocking her, laughing at her with their contorted faces the colour the tiles they laid on had once been. She wanted to escape them, to be away from them and out of the damp prison that had been their tomb. As she looked frantically about there seemed to be nowhere to escape to, nothing that would lead her back into the light. All that she could see was fronted by darkness. She returned her eyes to the place where the light reached.

In the flickering light she thought she'd seen one of them move. Blinking to clear her vision she looked again. There was no sign of movement, she thought to herself that it had been a trick of the light but that thought was washed away by confusion when her eyes detected another of the bodies move.

She stood up quickly, almost stumbling backwards in her panic. They were all moving now, one by one they seemed to be waking from their eternal sleep. They were pulling themselves towards her. Their arms were reaching out for her, their fingers creaking as they opened and closed. She could hear their mangled jaws gnashing together wordlessly.

She tried to back away from them but she was surrounded. There was nowhere to go. She turned around to find an avenue of escape and was confronted with the grisliest of the corpses.

It was suspended from the ceiling by a rope tied about its neck. Its feet hung inches from the floor and it was unmoving. What was left of the mangled, skinless, torso was dressed in a nurses' uniform. Pinned to one of the lapels was a badge. She was drawn to it. The letters upon it were still faint but she could still read the word they spelt.

"Ellen." She breathed.

She was still looking at the badge when out of the corner of her eye she noticed something move slightly. Her head snapped round to look on it fully but it was too late.

She screamed as the bloody hand found her throat.

Lily looked up from where she had rested her cheek on Morgan's head when she heard the screams echoing through the house.

"I think Robyn's found the basement." She said before laying it back down and closing her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Her head was pounding. She didn't feel ready to open her eyes and look around her lest she should once again find herself looking up at the executioner of those she had found herself surrounded by or his victims themselves. Something at the back of her mind was telling her to face her fear, that she wasn't in the same place she had been before but she didn't trust it. She didn't want to take the risk that it would mislead her and she would look upon something much worse than she had seen before. The pounding in her head also warned her to be careful, if there was too much light where she was she could see it being rather painful. In an attempt to still the thudding threatening to break open her skull she tried to turn over onto her stomach and press her face further into darkness but something stopped her.

She was no longer lying on the cold, bloodied, tiles of the basement floor. The surface she was upon now was soft. It felt strangely warm as if she had been there a while. She used her hands to feel what she couldn't see, a habit she had picked up when she had been blinded. They told her what her eyes hadn't been able to and it helped her now she wanted to keep her eyes from seeing. She could feel the softness covering her like a blanket, pillows supported her back and from what she could tell she was partially sat up against them.

What her hands didn't tell her was that she was that she wasn't alone in the room.

Someone touched her back. Their hand upon her shoulder blade startled her and her eyes flew open. Morgan was sitting on the bed beside her, it was his hand on her back and he was holding a glass of something in his other hand. He was looking at her intently as he lifted the glass closer to her and brought it near her lips.

"Here, drink this. It'll make you feel better." He said softly as he pressed it against her lower lip, trying to get her to drink.

She panicked. Her hand knocked the glass from his as she tried to get away from him and it fell, hitting the nightstand and shattering before he could regain his grip on it. Shards of glass and ribbons of fluid went everywhere, soaking the bedclothes and littering the floor. Morgan looked at it briefly and then back at her, his eyes were cool but there was no trace of anger in them. He took his eyes from her and left the room, the only sound of his departure the turning of a key in a lock and a bolt being pushed firmly home.

It was strange, the way he had looked at her. She hadn't expected it. There had been nothing of what she had always seen in Cain's eyes when she had found the courage to look into them. There wasn't the same madness, the same lust, it just seemed as if there were an endless void, a hidden thought, shrouded in a deep blue haze of mystery.

She had seen something else in his eyes, in his features. It had been almost overpowering. He looked like their father. Their eyes were almost the same colour, his hair was also wavy but he had grown it to shoulder length. His lips were thin and his facial features clean cut. Upon his chin and cheeks there was the barest hint of facial hair, a shadow that accentuated the lower part of his face. His frame was slender but traces of muscle were visible beneath the ripples of his shirt. A long dark jacket had complimented the lightness of his eyes and skin.

Eloise had been right. He was handsome and he did resemble Sportacus in a way that was almost uncomfortable to look upon.

Looking into his face was almost like looking into a male reflection of herself. She could see the resemblance between them. They were twins; there was no doubting that. Lily's features were less clear in her brother than they were in her but she could still something of her mother in his looks but it was more prominent in the way he moved.

His footsteps had been light, almost so light that it gave the impression he was walking on air, that his feet were barely touching the ground. She had watched him leave, fascinated by the swiftness with which he moved, the seamless fluidity of every step, of every movement, the confidence in his body and the ability to do what he wanted.

The key sounded in the lock again as the bolt was pulled back, disturbing her thoughts and pulling her back into the present. The door reopened seconds later and Morgan came through it. He was holding several towels slung over his arm and in his hand was another glass filled with the same liquid. Tucked under his other arm was a dustpan and brush.

Placing the glass on the nightstand he proceeded to sweep up the broken glass. With his hand he made a cursory check to make sure he had found it all to make sure he had swept it all up. When he was satisfied that was nothing left of the glass he placed the towels on the floor to mop up the wetness.

His tasks complete he stood up and took the glass in his hand. He once more held it out to Robyn but she was still reluctant to take it. This didn't escape his notice and he withdrew it before putting a towel on the bed and sitting down on it.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He tried to reassure.

"Like you didn't hurt the man you beheaded?" Robyn replied curtly.

Morgan looked down for a moment, "That was different. Can't a brother and sister just talk?"

"Not in this family." Robyn's tone was sharp, her words sharper.

"You mean about the business between mother and father. We don't have to do that, we're the new generation."

"That didn't stop Cain."

There was something about the way that Morgan shifted his weight that gave Robyn the impression that he was becoming strangely uncomfortable about what they were talking about, about what had happened in Toronto, something that he had to know about. She licked her lips for the briefest moment, debating what to do next. Many of the options that proposed themselves to her seemed tangible but she pushed them away. To dig deeper into Morgan's feelings could endanger her, she knew that if he wanted to hurt her she would find no protection with Lily.

Choosing the safest option she changed the subject, "So what's in the glass?"

"Water," Morgan replied taking it in his hand again, "That's all. It's just water. I take it that you still won't drink it."

Robyn shook her head, "No, I won't. At the moment I'm finding it hard to work out how a cold blooded killer who goes around slicing people's heads off can do that one minute and the next play house. It doesn't make sense."

Something had changed. It was subtle and yet she could tell that the atmosphere in the room was becoming distinctly uncomfortable. Morgan's mood had altered. He was looking at her differently, with almost fresh eyes. This frightened her more than his proximity. She hadn't forgotten what he could do and knew well that he was armed, his knife was still at his side, waiting to be brought into action without the slightest thought or regret. It was the hilt of that knife that his hand found now but something stopped him from pulling it from his belt.

With no word or reason he got up and left the room. The door was locked and bolted again and she heard his retreating footsteps on the stairs.

She was alone.


	11. Chapter 11

So much silence. In every crease of his flesh, in every particle of dust that glided in the air, in every thought and motion it bred, insidious, building and building until he felt as if he were in fever, wishing that delirium would bring forth the release of words he wanted to say but that were deafened to the ears of his parents. Not even with his eyes meeting his father's for but a fleeting moment was there any communication, those eyes he sought some sign from bent in shame when he tried to hold their gaze. They would not look upon him, they would not bestow him with the pride he had once seen and relished in. There was nothing there now apart from a burning anger and a clear scar of disappointment.

Forced back behind their lids his eyes looked to himself. They looked at what he had lost in one futile moment, in one temporary loss of control and what he would never see again. He saw his son, a child unknown to him, a child hidden behind a veil of secrecy. It was that child that he knew would destroy him as he had destroyed his daughter. She had loved him once, worshipped him, and he had torn her to pieces. He had forced her into the arms of her mother, a woman she would never had considered speaking to months before but had now sought refuge from him and the secrets he had kept.

There had been no escaping the truth and it had crushed her. He had watched her from above, moving swiftly through the night, away from her home and he hadn't stopped her.

Why hadn't he stopped her?

The question seemed almost stupid but yet he asked himself. When he should have taken action he had once again let her down, choosing to let her leave rather than trying to reason with her, trying to once more establish an equilibrium between them.

There was no chance of anything now, not even if he tried he had failed miserably as a father and had failed his values as a hero. Every vow he had taken had been broken, it was that fact that his broken his father and reduced his mother to fits of tears. It was that that had created the overwhelming miasma of silence.

Ché sat down heavily on his bed. He had barely slept that night. He had barely slept any night since Lily's attack and the deadly revelations that had ripped everything he had ever known about his friend to pieces that night. Both he and Greta knew that it was time for them to return to their duties, to return home to Spain where they were needed but he couldn't face leaving like this. A family was lying in tatters, a girl he admired had had her heart broken and her life smashed to bits with no hope of ever building it back up again.

He knew now the reason for her going to Toronto and blamed Sportacus for not keeping a closer watch on her. He blamed him for everything that had happened to her in the place she had run to. It angered him that his long time friend had shown no remorse for his actions. Even when he had been pushed into a corner by Lily in this twisted menagerie of lies had continued to hold back the truth.

It was time for him to act. He had to do something and he had to do it now.

From far away Kit could hear the banging of hammers and the sawing of wood. Mingled with those sounds was the squeaking of metal being connected to metal as scaffolding was being erected to keep the great pillar damaged by Ché's attack on Lily standing tall. Just beneath that he could hear the tramp of booted feet on the roads as those men dressed in black and carrying their own particular type of weapons patrolled the streets. They waited for when they would be summoned to protect the town or launch another search in an attempt to find his beloved. He had been allowed this far out of town but he knew that they were watching him. If he tried to go another further past the boundary they had marked out for him he would be brought back and placed back into the house in which he was staying, disappointed and under guard. It was for his own safety, he knew, no one knew what was out there, who was waiting but she was out there, it was her he wanted to find and he would defy them if only he could see her face once more. Getting away would be the hardest part and he knew that if he left the confines of their guard he would be out there alone, lost to whoever was waiting for him in the shadows.

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of someone speaking to him, one word, his name, the voice was pleasantly familiar.

"I thought you weren't talking to me still." Kit turned around to look at Stephanie.

Stephanie coloured a little. There had always been something about Kit's directness that caught her off guard.

"I am now," Stephanie smiled taking a few steps closer to Kit, "Uncle Milford called me and told me what's been happening. If we'd known before we would have come sooner. I'm sorry we weren't here when everything was going wrong."

Kit shook his head, "Don't worry about it. It's good to have you back in town."

"Thanks. It's good to be back. With Pixel's job at the big computer factory down south it's hard to get the time to visit but he's taken some holiday he's been saving so for now we're back home. Besides, little Lucy can't miss out on the town I grew up in."

"I don't blame you but to be honest it isn't safe for her here. Did your uncle tell you about Lily? About Morgan? Lucy is just a kid still, she's not more than what, two years old?"

It was Stephanie's turn to shake her head, "I know but I can't forget my friends. We knew the risks before we came, Kit. Uncle Milford told us about what Morgan had done but he also reassured us that we have protection here."

Kit scoffed. His face took on a look of disbelief. A strange, sickening mirth began to fill his eyes and he started laughing. It was the laugh of a man that had just been told he had weeks to live. The laugh of a man that had seen his whole life crumble around him and the laugh of a man faced with the inexplicable truth that he was responsible for his pain. It was strangled; pulling at every fibre in his throat as it surged forward, threatening to tip the mind over into the plunging depths of insanity.

Knowing what he had done, knowing that his inaction, his failure to stop Robyn himself had led to her escape and the possibility that she would never return, he stopped laughing. It died away suddenly. He knew what he had done but the reality hadn't hit home until now, until he had almost jumped to blame someone else.

The fault lay with him and it tortured him.

Robbie rose slowly from the kitchen chair he had planted himself in just three minutes before when he heard knocking at the front door. Hours of ceaseless pacing backwards and forwards, of worrying about Robyn and wondering where Kit had gone had drained him. Pulling open the door he was greeted with the wholly unwelcome sight of one that had been an enemy of his and was now once more. He moved to close the door but his visitor was too fast and pushed it back open.

"We need to talk." Sportacus gently pushed Robbie out of the way to gain access to the house before closing the door behind him.

"Talk?" Robbie nearly spat the word, "Why would _I_ want to talk to _you_? Do you have any idea what you've done? Look at what you've taken from me! You took my daughter."

A long dormant anger sparked in Sportacus; "She was never your daughter! She was mine she was always mine!" He shouted desperately jabbing his index finger into his chest.

"Yeah and some father you've turned out to be. So what is it you're here for, huh, to rub my face in it even more?"

Sportacus calmed down as he told Robbie the news he had come to give him; "I'm leaving town. With my airship gone I have no home here anymore and I don't feel comfortable around my parents."

"I'm not surprised," Robbie sneered but it faded when a thought came to him, "That's the story of Robyn's life isn't it?"

"What is?"

"When you don't want her you hand her to me. Just like the first time."

There was something in Robbie's words that chilled Sportacus, "What first time?"

"When she was a baby. When you dumped her on my doorstep. I heard what Robyn said, 'keep it'. It didn't take me long to work it out after it came out you were her father. When I died you got her back and when I came back you let me have her again. And of course when she finds out that I'm not her father you try to get her back again but she still ends up with me like she is now, like she will be when you tuck your tail between your legs and run. And you say that she was always yours, well maybe there's something you ought to think about."

"Like what?"

Robbie smiled, "How do _you_ know that Robyn's your daughter? Lily had a reputation didn't she? I mean she was sleeping with Doctor Cranium around the same time she'd done anything with us two. There's no telling how many others there were. Maybe you should take a DNA test to find out and if it turns out that she's not yours you'll know just how I felt when I opened that envelope. You'll know how it feels to believe in something so strongly and have it ripped from under you. And then we'll know the real truth. Now get out."

Chilled to his very being by Robbie's words, Sportacus backed slowly out of the door he had struggled to open. There was an undeniable truth in what had been said but he couldn't face taking the leap of faith involved in knowing whether or not Robyn was truly his.


	12. Chapter 12

Pinned to the wall, out of sight, she listened. She could hear them talking, their voices low but not so low that she couldn't pick out what they were saying. Their hushed words were wrapped in an argument of some kind but she couldn't fathom what. Had she been able to identify both voices the mystery may have dissolved but she knew only one voice and it was the dominant one, her mother's.

There was no mistaking those sharp tones, the voice almost like a hiss when used in its purest form, at other times its almost musical rhythms captivated the attention of its listener, almost hypnotising them as she spoke with her velvet poison. The other voice was almost beaten down by hers, it struggled to make itself heard without breaking out into a shout but there were times when she could hear it. In those short snatches of uninterrupted speech from the owner she had tried to work out who owned the voice but they were a stranger to her, a stranger that seemed to be losing the battle and pushing himself into very dangerous territory.

His voice was coarse and spoken in an accent that was unfamiliar to her. From his use of language she could also tell that he was easily frustrated but there were some words he used that she couldn't understand. They were in English but were jumbled somehow and didn't make sense. Even though she was confused by the man's strange words he intrigued her, by his strength and seeming will to be the dominant force in his argument with her mother.

She had to see what he looked like.

Shuffling carefully against the wall she moved herself closer to the door. The closer she got to it the more she could hear but still the nature of the argument was unclear and it seemed that her mother's well held in anger had reached boiling point. She could hear the change in her mother's voice and something told her to back away before something happened but she had to know what was going on.

Robyn leant forward very slightly, her eyes becoming level with the crack left by the partly closed door. She could see quite clearly with one eye closed and watched the proceedings intently, always ready to pull herself away if she needed to. Such a time unfolded with stark quickness.

Her mother had virtually lost her temper.

Lily snarled at her interlocutor as he continued to refuse to listen. He had been treading on thin ice since his arrival but now he had dived right through it. No longer able to just use her voice to try to reason with him she moved to take physical action.

"I don't think you're hearing me." Lily hissed vehemently.

Before the man could stop her he felt her hand grasp his groin area tightly with one hand. She squeezed the contents of her palm, digging her nails in until she head a satisfying yelp of pain but she didn't let go.

There was more to say.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear," Lily squeezed harder, "You will do as I tell you. When you have gotten the food I've asked for you will get your money and not before. Are we agreed?"

The man couldn't answer; the pain in his groin was too great. He felt as if he would burst, he was trying desperately to hold his breath. The pressure of Lily's hand refused to cease and it grew greater with every second of silence. When she squeezed again, much harder than before, he had to stop his legs from buckling from underneath him lest his genitals should be ripped from his body.

Lily smiled at the fear in the man's face but it faded when she asked him once more, "Are we agreed?"

"Yes! Yes, we're bloody agreed! I'll do what you want, anyfing you want, just let me goolies go!" The man screamed unable to contain his pain any longer.

This display satisfied Lily and she let the man go, literally. He landed in an agonised heap on the floor but that wasn't the end of his torture. Before he could cradle his soreness and protect them from another attack instigated by that wicked hand, Lily landed a violent kick on the same area she had attacked before. The pain blistered through his body and he wailed miserably like an injured child. With tear filled eyes he looked up at her, asking her why.

"Just so you don't forget our agreement. Now, get out before I give you something to whine about." Lily threatened.

There was no need for Lily to say any more, her victim began to attempt to get up without any other persuasion. She would have watched him with pleasure but something else had caught her attention, there was someone watching them. Quickly, before the spy had any chance of escape she ran to the door, throwing it open she looked out, ready to pounce on they who dared to watch her behind a closed door.

But there was no one there. Frowning, Lily shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, she could have sworn that she'd heard someone moving outside. Putting the noise down to her companion she left her place at the door and walked back into the room.

Robyn leant against the wall of the alcove breathing heavily. She had just made it in time without being seen but it had been too close. Just a second more and her mother would have spotted her moving as quickly as she could down the corridor. Now, hidden from sight, she had time to gain her breath in safety.

Or so she thought.

"What are you doing in there?" A voice asked her, making her jump.

Whirling round, Robyn came face to face with Morgan. He was standing on the threshold of the room built behind the alcove, almost behind her. She could clearly detect a slight hint of amusement on his face, his chiselled features softened by the emotion. Poking her head out of the alcove she looked in the direction of the front room.

"Lily has a visitor," Robyn explained nodding her head towards the open door.

Morgan followed Robyn's glance and nodded, "I heard. He's been making quite a commotion."

"It's hardly surprising considering what she did to him."

"What she did to him? Do you mean to tell me you were spying on mother? I'm impressed. I always thought you were the good one."

Robyn looked at Morgan with mock outrage, "I am. And besides, I wasn't spying, not really. I was just-"

"Spying," Morgan interrupted with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell. If she asks I'll say it was me keeping an eye out for her personal safety. I'm not sure how she'd react if she knew it was you."

"Thanks. Who is that guy anyway?"

Morgan thought for a moment, "I think he's called Larry. He's who we get our food from. It's too dangerous for me and mother to leave the house for long what with your friends from the Network looking for you. If we're seen it could cause trouble, not so much for me but for mother. Now, speaking of food, I'm going to make myself some lunch."

Robyn watched as Morgan walked past her, out of the alcove, and down the corridor to the kitchen. She would have walked with him but something stopped her. It had been the first time she'd seen him smile, the first time they'd properly spoken and it intrigued her. There was something more to him than she had seen before, something that she couldn't take the risk to explore. If she got too caught up in the side of him she had seen there was a very real chance that she would forget the killer in him and that was something she mustn't do.

So wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice the man staring at her from the entrance of the alcove, her eyes fixed on the wall ahead of her. It was only when he spoke that she realised that he was there.

"Well, well, well, what 'ave we 'ere then?" The man asked all and none; he smiled a nearly toothless smile when Robyn looked up at him in surprise. "Aren't you a pretty one? What 'as Lily been doin' hidin' a little treasure like you? Why don't you come an say 'ello to Larry?"

There was something very wrong about Larry. Robyn could sense his intentions despite his injuries and it frightened her. She tried to back away but he was much faster than she was. He grabbed her before she could escape into the room that Morgan had left and pulled her to him. His breath was pungent as it tickled her cheek. Most of his teeth were missing and those that were left were like black stumps.

She tried to squirm out of his grasp as he tilted his head to kiss her but something stopped him. As if from nowhere a blade sliced its way between them, coming close enough to slice her throat and almost close enough to cutting off Larry's bottom lip. The latter stopped what he was doing immediately and looked at Robyn, eyes wide with fear. There was someone behind him that he couldn't see, someone who was holding the knife.

"Let her go before I kill you where you're standing." Morgan ordered, it was he behind Larry.

Nodding his head, Larry quickly let Robyn go and made to back away. He was allowed to leave with his life and he did so quickly, vowing never to touch the girl he had seen again.

Shaken by what had happened and reliving memories of Cain all over again, Robyn burst into tears. Doing what came naturally to anyone in need of comfort and not thinking she walked over to Morgan and put her arms around him. He didn't know how to react at first but slowly he put his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him.

Placing one hand on the back of her head he smoothed her hair as he rested his chin on top of it, trying to work out the feelings that had been awakened in him.


	13. Chapter 13

What was it about him?

His deep blue eyes? His hidden smile? The softness of his voice when he spoke to her? His expressive features displaying every emotion that he felt whether it was good or bad?

She didn't know. No matter how much she tried she couldn't turn her thoughts from him. He enthralled her. When she thought of him a confusing medley of feelings rushed towards her, each conflicting, none making sense. Her frightened her. She knew what he was and yet sometimes it seemed as if he were two different people. One a killer, the other a kind hearted man but she couldn't escape the bitter fact that both were manifestations of the same person. The man that had made her feel safe when he held her in his arms was the same man that had taken two lives and was perhaps responsible for the loss of many more.

There was so much about him she didn't know and yet she found herself wanting to know him better, to know those things that she had warned herself from. She was like a moth pulled by an unbreakable string to a flame that with one fatal kiss of knowledge's rapture on her wings would kill her. To know him would be to surrender herself to him completely. When once she knew him totally there would be no time for her left on the earth and she would crumble into darkness.

Locked within her fatal thoughts of self-destruction Robyn didn't notice that someone had entered the room, someone who had not entered her thoughts for hours.

At once predatory, Lily sauntered across the floor, neither emotion nor thought playing about her face. Her footsteps were silent even upon the worn carpet of the room but she didn't attempt to startle her daughter as she drew closer, instead she spoke her name softly. Robyn turned to look at her shortly after, puzzlement clear on her features. Lily answered that puzzlement with a question.

"What are you doing in that chair?" She asked, her tone as neutral as her face.

Robyn looked at the chair she was in before looking back at Lily; "I'm sitting down. What does it look like?"

Lily smiled slightly at the answer before starting to walk away but she paused in her motion. Her smile faded and whirling round she slapped Robyn hard around the face. The blow was such that it knocked Robyn from the chair onto the rough floor.

Swiftly swooping down upon her dazed child Lily grabbed a handful of Robyn's hair and pulled her up roughly. Bringing her face dangerously close to that of her errant child she revealed the anger that had been boiling beneath the surface, her eyes glowing in their bloodthirsty wish for answers.

"No one sits in that chair!" Lily yelled dropping her daughter like an old, unwanted doll.

Lily stepped back from her daughter, debating with herself whether or not to continue her discipline but in the interval of her decision something happened that she hadn't at all expected.

With a fluidity of motion equal to her own, Robyn kicked her legs from under her. She was unable to regain her balance before falling, sprawling, to the ground. Stunned as she was she didn't get up immediately and only watched dumbstruck as her daughter stood up and looked down at her. Slowly the realisation of what had happened dawned upon her and her anger returned but she could also feel something else just below it, an unfamiliar feeling to her in regards to her daughter.

Pride.

Standing just a meter from her daughter she tried to stare her down, to rip away every vestige of confidence that had made the girl hit back but it wasn't working. Robyn's show of courage was not to be diminished. She refused to back down and stood levelling her mother's devastating glare with one of her own.

Instead of enhancing her pride for her daughter this show enflamed Lily's anger still further. She had had enough. Breaching the space between them in less than a second she hit out with another stinging slap to her daughter's face that brought blood to the girl's mouth.

This was the first blow of many that pushed her daughter back, crushing her spirit. With every new blow Robyn was finding it harder and harder to defend herself. She tried to match her opponent blow for blow and those that she managed to strike out with hit home but it wasn't enough to stop the raging onslaught. She was tiring quickly but surrender was not an option, she could only be defeated.

Taking full advantage of her daughter's failing strength, Lily made her final attack. With cat like reflexes she grabbed one of Robyn's wrists as she made to hit her and yanked the girl's arm back, forcing her to stumble forward or risk breaking her arm. With her daughter in such close proximity she hit her harder than she had done before with the back of her hand, stunning her into submission.

Ready to finish her opponent she dropped the limp wrist from her hands and moved them to Robyn's neck, her grip firm and her arms stiff. Her fingers dug into the soft flesh of the throat beneath her grasp but it was not her intention to strangle the life from her child, she was going to kill her by another means, a move she had made many times before and one that had never failed her. She would have snapped her daughter's neck had it not been for the appearance of her son.

Morgan stood at his full height in the doorway his deadly knife unsheathed, offering a clear warning that she was not stupid enough to ignore. Though defiant she had no choice but to comply and dropping her daughter where she was she left the room, pausing only a few seconds to spare her son a threatening look.

It was one that he could neither ignore nor challenge. It was a look that told him that if he interfered again it would be his life in jeopardy. He did not wish to encourage her to make good on her threat so he lowered his eyes in submission as she passed.

With his mother gone, Morgan crossed the floor to where Robyn was now sitting up. He stood for a few moments looking down at her, wondering what had possessed her to insight her mother's anger so but he shook it off and sat down beside her. Without saying anything he looked at her and then looked away, fixing his eyes on the wall beyond them.

He was almost surprised at how quickly Robyn had brushed off what had happened just minutes before. It almost seemed as if nothing had happened at all, as if he'd imagined everything. It was almost surreal in the way that she was just sitting there, lip bleeding, and playing with her hair. What was real was his confusion. He just couldn't understand.

What was it about her?

Her spirit? Her smile? The way she looked at him when he came near her? Her courage? Her gleaming eyes filled with so many secrets? The way she seemed to calm him when he was around her?

There were so many questions, so little answers and no way of untangling the jumbled mess of emotions tugging at him. He wanted to scream in frustration but there was nothing there. His head thumped with the need to leave the house and do something, anything to take his mind from the two women in his life. One that would eventually destroy him the other that had a chance of saving him but he just didn't know which one was which.

Not sure about what her brother was thinking and not wishing to probe his mind to find out, Robyn joined him in staring at the wall. After a few moments her attention span waned and she closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing slightly as she turned her head to look at something more interesting than old, faded wallpaper.

"I don't know what you can see on that wall but surely it can't be that interesting." Robyn said, confused about what could have caught his attention so.

Morgan didn't take his eyes from the wall as he replied, "Hmmmm?"

"Nothing," Robyn shrugged and pulled herself up onto her feet.

Brushing herself down she left her brother in the front room and headed out in search of her mother. There was a certain amount of information she wanted to gain from her and was willing to do anything to get the answers she needed.


	14. Chapter 14

The cool water sliding over his muscled body relaxed him as he glided through it, his arms pushing him through it in massive strokes. It made him feel stronger. Moving so swiftly through the rippling waves made him feel as if he was back at full health again, as if he had never been injured and that the past few months had been nothing but an awful nightmare.

He stopped swimming and treaded the water when he realised that he was lying to himself. What was he doing? He himself had become a victim of one of his own lies, trying to brush what had been happening under the carpet while he took a swim and for what? When he left the water nothing would have changed. No one would smile and wave at him as he walked back into town; no one would call out his name and ask him to do something for them. There would be no one asking him how he was or where he'd be going when he told them he was leaving town.

No one would care.

Shaking his head at himself, Sportacus began to swim back to shore. His body began to ache as he pulled himself through the water. It seemed to be much thicker now and trying to hold him back from where he was headed. Even the lake seemed to have turned against him. The shore came ever closer but it wasn't until his feet touched the muddy surface that he felt as if he was actually there. It seemed to have taken longer to reach it coming in than it did to get away from it when he swam out.

As he stood on the shore drying himself off as best he could with his jacket, his feet caked in the mud beneath him, he suddenly realised he wasn't alone. Gripped momentarily by a sudden panic honed in by the fact that if whoever stood behind him was a hostile there were no guards nearby to help him, he dropped everything.

Finding his wits he slowly turned around, preparing himself for the worst.

Stephanie sat with Kit in her Uncle's kitchen, a hot mug of cocoa in her hands. The cup she had made for him had been drained already and she was glad that he had at least had something to drink but she was dismayed at the sight of the untouched sandwich in front of him. He had frightened her earlier, she had never seen him so close to breaking and yet when he had told her what had happened she couldn't blame him. Now she had to help him whether he wanted it or not but she couldn't think how.

If only Sportacus was there…

She stopped herself thinking that. It was him that had been the main cause of all their problems. He had hurt three people that had loved him as much as he should have loved them. But she reminded herself that it wasn't just him that was responsible. There was Lily as well. Whenever she thought of that woman her blood ran cold. She could still remember their first encounter as if it had happened yesterday, the sheer embarrassment that she felt under those searching eyes and that smile…

But it wasn't that that frightened her. It was the fact that she had helped Sportacus when he had gone to save Robbie in his lair. She was sure that Lily wouldn't forget what she had done, the part that she had played in her defeat and that she would seek revenge not only on her but her daughter as well.

"Are you alright, Stephanie? You're looking a little queasy."

Stephanie looked up at Kit, it was the first time he had spoken in a while and she was glad of the distraction.

Shaking her head she replied, "I'm ok. I was just thinking about someone."

"Lily." A statement not a question.

"How did you guess?" Stephanie asked in surprise.

"Because I know that look. I've seen it on Robbie's face a million times and I know the feeling."

"How?"

Kit pointed to the numerous bruises on the visible parts of his body, "This. Lily did this to me just over a week ago."

"I wondered what had happened but I didn't want to say anything, I didn't think it was the right time."

"That's alright, as long as you didn't think it was me that tried to remodel my face. She gave me a good kicking and I tell you, she looks like a woman but she fights like a man. And think yourself lucky that you're not a bloke."

"Why not?" Stephanie asked but with a slight suspicion about what was going to be said next.

Kit smiled wryly, "She cracked my nuts. That's the hardest I've ever been kicked by anyone and I tell you now it bloody hurt, it still hurts now on occasion."

Stephanie grimaced, she felt sorry for Kit but was happy that she'd been able to do something to take his mind off Robyn if only for a short time.

Sportacus sighed in relief when he saw that it was one of Ché's twins standing behind him but the feeling passed quickly when he realised that he might be given a hard time. He lowered his eyes as he bent down stiffly to pick up his jacket, hoping that he would be spared an earful.

"You know, Sportacus, you're lucky it's me and not Alejandro. He's always been the one with an opinion on everything." Rico said his arms folded as he watched the display before him.

Sportacus looked up. "Don't you have an opinion about all this?"

"No. Mamma does, Papa does, Alejandro does and I'm sure everyone else in this town including your parents has one too."

"You're the only one that doesn't then. Why?"

Rico shrugged, "I don't know the full story. There's no point judging anyone until you know all the facts. You taught me that. The problem is that it's a lesson Papa hasn't learnt yet."

"I know and that's what worries me. I let him down; I've let everyone down. That's why I'm leaving. I don't deserve to be here anymore."

"What about your new airship? They'll give you one some time but they won't be able to if they don't know where you are. Besides, you shouldn't run away. It's not going to help anyone and if Robyn comes back it certainly isn't going to help her, she needs you just as much as you need her."

Shaking his head, Sportacus pointed to the right side of his jaw. "If she needed me she wouldn't have done this."

"She was angry." Rico protested feeling as if he should put a bruise on the other side of Sportacus' face to make him listen, "Maybe you deserved it, I don't know but don't hold it against her. She'll come round eventually and you two need to talk, a lot.

Sportacus was about to say something in reply but the sight of one of Elias' men running towards them interrupted him. The moment he saw the look on the man's face he knew that something had happened and his thoughts became focussed solely on his daughter.

Everyone was gathered around the podium, waiting for three people, Elias, Rico and Sportacus. In the midst of their confused mumbling, Boris stood calmly. He had followed his orders to call the meeting, enlisting the Mayor's help to raise the podium and gain everyone's attention. As he looked over the gathered congregation he wondered how they'd take the news. He knew that most of the reactions would be bad, Elias did too and he was double-checking every piece of information before he spoke to the people of the town.

There could be no room for mistakes.

Rico and Sportacus arrived with the man he had sent out for them just before Elias came, his face grim. Allowing his superior to take the floor, Boris stepped down and joined his other colleagues.

"I've called everyone here to this emergency meeting today in light of some information I received an hour ago, information that I have just had verified." Elias began, not once taking his eyes from the crowd. "Today one of the extended searches looking for Robyn found a car abandoned on the road between Crazytown and Greentown. We believe that Robyn at some point since her disappearance was travelling in the car."

"How do you know?" Kit asked ignoring the fact that Elias was about to say more.

Elias frowned even more but remained calm, "We found something that belongs to her on the floor of the passenger side of the car. Unfortunately that wasn't all we found, we found the driver too."

"That's good, isn't it?" Bessie spoke with a slight tremor in her voice, almost dreading the answer she was going to receive.

"It would be if he was alive. My men found him with his head twisted completely around so that he was facing behind him."

A mixed tremor of gasps escaped the crowd. This was the last thing they had expected. Several among them began to panic, something Elias was ill equipped to deal with as he ordered them to silence. When it failed to work he began to get angry but Boris was quickly on the stage to save them from his wrath.

"We don't believe that Robyn had anything to do with it." He called into the microphone, cooling down the distemper that had distressed so many. "The driver was found sitting in the passenger seat and a pathologist we drafted in confirmed that he had died in there, he hadn't been moved, which leads us to believe that someone drove the car to a quiet spot and then killed him."

"And Robyn doesn't drive." Robbie confirmed his voice heavy with relief.

Kit shook his head, "No, but Lily does."

The crowd was shocked to silence. They'd never imagined that Robyn would get involved with Lily but it was the only theory that held true in their minds. Everyone looked to each other all knowing that they had been partly responsible for pushing her to a person that could destroy them all. But there was one question firmly pressed in everyone's minds.

Where was Lily?


End file.
